Porous polymeric particles having high surface area have been prepared by suspension polymerization wherein discontinuous organic phase, i.e., droplets of monomeric reaction mixture, are suspended in a continuous aqueous phase and a "phase extender", i.e., a nonreactive low molecular weight diluent is included in the monomeric reaction mixture. Organic solvents, e.g., xylene, that are soluble in the reaction mixture and insoluble in the continuous aqueous phase, are typically used as phase extenders. The suspended droplets of the reaction mixture are polymerized and the phase extender is then removed from the polymerized particles, e.g., by distillation, and recycled. The process of removing the phase extender from the particles can be tedious, time consuming and expensive.
German Patent Application DE 1137 554 discloses a process wherein an inverted emulsion of water in a water insoluble monomer is dispersed in an aqueous medium and the monomer is polymerized to produce a porous polymer having an elevated softening point compared to a polymer of the same monomer prepared by conventional suspension polymerization processes. The polymers disclosed in the German application are not characterized with regard to surface area.